20 David Crosby Quotes That Are as True Now as They Were Then

David Crosby (August 14, 1941 – January 18, 2023) was a renowned American singer, songwriter, as well as a famed guitarist. Crosby first made his big splash on the scene as a member of the Byrds. It was with them that he was responsible for helping forge the genres of both folk rock as well as psychedelia during the mid-1960s. From there, his career rose in meteorite-like fashion when he was a part of the group Crosby, Stills & Nash. We’ll take a look at some of David Crosby’s most infamous quotes that he left us with.

1. On the talent of Norah Jones

“Norah Jones is a breath of fresh air. Norah Jones can sing and play. She’s got some talent. I was totally ecstatic that that girl got noticed, because she’s wonderful.”

2. On mindful sailing

“I’ve always been a very careful sailor. I know, me and being careful, doesn’t really sound right, does it? But when I sail, I take it seriously and take along spares for everything. You have to be careful when you’re 1,500 miles from land. There’s no one you can call. You’re on your own.”

3. On greed

“I don’t like greed, I don’t like ignorance. I really don’t like anger. But I love love.”

4. On his start in sailing

“When I was 11 years old, my parents wanted me to do something besides get in trouble. So they enrolled me in sailing classes at the Sea Shell Association in Santa Barbara, Calif. From the moment I climbed into that 8-foot dinghy in 1952, I knew instinctively what to do and sensed I had done it before.”

5. On acting

“My father being in the movie business, I thought being an actor would be great. But when I started singing to people in coffeehouses, you know, singing folk music and then, later, singing songs that I started to write myself, I felt more than an affinity for it. I felt a calling.”

6. On giving up bread

“I gave up bread, and I’ve lost a bunch of weight, which is very good because I’m diabetic.”

7. On the power of music

“I think music is a lifting force, I think love is the lifting force in the human condition. I think you see someone loving on their child, and it moves you, and you can’t help it. It rings a bell inside of us that elevates us as human beings, and I treasure that. I think it’s one of the few great things about human beings.”

8. On the ego

“I get egotistical about things where I can do something well – for example, my singing. Most other things, I don’t have the wherewithal to back it up.”

9. On his life’s journey

“I have a pretty clear picture of the whole weight of my life, and there are things that I’ve done that are good, and I’m proud of them. There are things that I’m really not proud of, and that they, you have to look at me with a perspective, and I try really hard to do that, to keep from thinking I’m cool and ever so smart.”

10. On musical storytelling

“I come from a school of people, folk singers, and the tradition there is troubadours, and you’re carrying a message. Now admittedly, our job is partly just to make you boogie, just make you want to dance. Part of our job is to take you on a little voyage, tell you a story.”

11. On people who run record companies

“The people who run record companies now wouldn’t know a song if it flew up their nose and died. They haven’t a clue, and they don’t care. You tell them that, and they go, Yeah? So, your point is?”

12. On being a hippy

“Being a hippy was the most natural thing in the world to me.”

13. On the origins of his songs

“My songs emerge from my life, or wherever they do, unbidden and unplanned and completely on a schedule of their own.”

14. On bookstores

“I’m an inveterate bookstore wanderer. I read constantly, so I love a good bookstore. I can’t help it.”

15. On the current state of record companies

“Now record companies are run by lawyers and accountants. The shift from the one to the other was definitely related to when the takes started to get big.”

16. On looks in singing

“There are a lot of people who look great but can’t sing.”

17. On the internet

“I do see things that are funny on the net. I Googled myself the other day and found out that I was worth $250m, and that I was the highest-paid guy in show business. I wish so hard it was true. It is, of course, the complete opposite. I’m neither rich nor do I make a lot of money.”

18. On voyaging

“I love voyaging, the longest has been 3,000 miles to Hawaii. I’ve also spent weeks all over the Caribbean.”

19. On woodstock

“Describing Woodstock as the big bang, I think that’s a great way to describe it, because the important thing about it wasn’t how many people were there or that it was a lot of truly wonderful music that got played.”

20. On aging

“I’m older than I’d like and I’m creaky, but I’m doing alright.”